Per the Usual
by AirFireWaterEarth
Summary: Usual has never defined Danny's life, but, against this, ghost hunting parents are per the usual. Danny's become half ghost, virtually hijacked to a school for the supernatural, made friends with an cocky boy with tech-ESP and a Goth girl who could wrap you in thorns if she had it her way, and has made myriad foes in his first week. Tea, anyone? (Superhero AU... more so than usual)
1. Chapter 1

**Per the Usual**

**Summary: Usual has never defined Danny's life, but, against this, ghost hunting parents are per the usual. Danny's become half ghost, virtually hijacked to a school for the supernatural, made friends with an cocky boy with tech-ESP and a Goth girl who could wrap you in thorns if she had it her way, and has made myriad foes in his first week. Tea, anyone?**

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><p>I can't say that I've lived a normal life. Even if my dad wasn't a dun (sorry Dad) and my sister wasn't a control freak (considerably less sorry Jaz), there would still be a bright, blinking sign of "WEIRDNESS!" in neon colors over my head, because, when it came down to it, parents who were more ghost hunters than parents were bound to lead to a life full of oddities. For instance, once, when I was around 5 or 6, Dad's "homemade microwave" turned into a "ghost vessel machine". Let's just say the food we were going to have that night gave it their best to make sure it was the other way around. Or when I was 8 and I wanted some ice cream. I went into the freezer to have my frozen deliciousness, opened up the ice cream container, and found a ghost begging to be my friend inside. I wouldn't eat ice cream for weeks.<p>

But, compared to today, it was the poster boy life.

It wasn't like it began all that differently from all the other days in my life; I walked downstairs to find Jaz holding out an apple for me, explaining that Mom and Dad were down in their lab working on a new experiment (cue Jaz's eye roll). I took the apple and went to school, to be shoved in my locker one or twice and made to eat alone behind the bleachers. All in all, it was the average day of Danny Fenton.

Then I went home, feeling _great as ever_ (at least I'd gotten an A- on that math test), I went down to the lab, knowing full well that Mom and Dad would need my help.

I walked down to come face to face with the biggest invention I'd ever seen them create, and, being the one who'd seen the disaster of the Fenton Ghost Satellite, that was saying something. I took off my backpack distractedly, looking at all the things that Mom and Dad (mainly Mom, I hoped, if this was going to work) were doing the machine.

"Woah…" I tailed off as I looked at it.

" 'Woah'?" Jaz complained, " 'woah' would mean you like it. This does not deserve a 'woah'. This deserves a 'take this down immediately!'"

"Please," I joked, "The government would need to say that of we wanted Mom and Dad to do such a thing."

Jaz huffed, gathered her bags, and walked up the stairs.

"If you need me, I'll be in my room doing _normal _things."

I rolled my eyes as she slammed the door at the top of the stairs.

I walked over to whatever Dad, who was holding two plugs, likely to activate… wait. What was this?

"Hey, Dad?" I asked, hoping to be getting a legitimate answer out of him and save a breath before going to Mom, "What is this?"

Dad, whose features lit up as bright as his orange jump suit, patted my back and led me over to some blue prints.

"It's a ghost portal. It'll connect our world to the Ghost Zone and we hunt ghosts!" Declared Dad.

"No, honey," Mom cut in, "its where we're going to _put _the ghosts. We can't hunt ghosts in the place where ghosts come from."

Dad had the look on his face that meant Mom's words went right into one ear and out the other.

"Yes, yes. We can figure out all the technical stuff later. Let's get this baby moving'!" Dad exclaimed, and jumped right back over to the plugs.

"Are you ready? One, two, three!" Dad plugged the two chords together and sparks ignited…

…

…

…and then nothing. It died down and it looked like nothing had happened.

Dad dejectedly dropped the plugs to the floor and Mom patted his back.

"It's okay, Jack, maybe another time."

They both left the lab without another word.

I looked into the portal. Well, if there was nothing going on in it, then it was fine to have a look around. It wasn't like Mom or Dad would mind. It was perfectly safe. I jumped as some other sparks went off. Okay, so maybe it wasn't _entirely _safe. I could always put on a suit. I walked over to the jump suits. To my dismay, they were all either orange, Mom's, or too big for me. Finally, I found a black and white jump suit that would fit me. I put it on and looked down, to find that there was Dad's face in the front.

"Let's _not _wear Dad's face," I said to myself as I peeled off the sticker.

Then I looked inside the Ghost Portal. It didn't look very deep. I stepped in a few steps and was suddenly amerced into darkness. I fumbled around and found out the hard way that Mom and Dad had made this portal deeper than I'd expected. I felt around on the wall for both support and in hope to find a light switch or something (reflex, I guess). Then I felt my hand press down further than all the other time and electricity go off. I knew I'd pressed a button.

Before, I could get out, I was blinded by light, and, suddenly, I felt as if every molecule in my body as being rearranged. It sounded like the lyrics to a bad rap, but it was the first class example of pain. I screamed and screamed, like a banshee on karaoke night, until blissful darkness set in.

Next thing I knew, I was on the ground, outside the portal (in the lab), feeling as if I weighed nothing. And not in the good way either. I didn't know why, until it came back to me in flashes. Whether it was my jumbled memory or if it had really happened in flashes, I couldn't tell, but I knew there was no way possible that I was actually alright. I hurried over to the next mirror and looked in. What I saw both surprised me and horrified me.

There wasn't a scratch on me. But that didn't mean nothing _happened_. I, for one, knew I definitely hadn't been born with white hair. Or, for that matter green eyes. And I knew I'd never been able to float before.

I also knew I had no idea what happened.

**.:.:.**

Somehow, in a miracle itself (as in, I had no idea how I did it), I was back on the ground with black hair and blue eyes, out of a jumpsuit, and in the kitchen, looking at my family as if I'd never seen them in my life.

"Honey, are you okay?" My mother asked.

"Yeah, you look like you've see a ghost! You haven't seen a ghost, right?" Dad added, reaching into his back pocket, presumably for an ecto-gun.

I was in the midst of shaking my head in reply, when something hit me. Had I seen a ghost? At Time A, I was normal Danny Fenton and Time B I was some weird kind of Danny Fenton. Cause: Ghost portal. New thesis: I'd seen a ghost.

And I was so dead.

I perked up, holding my back up straighter.

"I'm fine. No ghosts! No ghosts at all! … Gosh, its late, I really should be getting to bed. I'll skip dinner. Daylight savings really takes a toll on ya. Love you!" When I reached the end of that incessant ramble, I bolted up the stairs to my room, perfectly content to do exactly what I'd said I was going to do.

My stomach rumbled at the thought, but there was no way I was going back down to my ghost hunting family.

Not when I was 99.999% sure I was a ghost.

.:.:.

I slept fitfully, waking up time and time again from dreams of Mom and Dad locking me up in some contraptions that they'd made and some that my imagination fixed up for me.

At one point, I had a dream that men in white were coming through my window, into my bedroom, taking me away to some place they called the "Academy for the Supernatural".

It took me a while to figure out it wasn't a dream. And when I did, it wasn't pretty.

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><p><strong>AN: I've written Sisters Grimm, Austin and Ally, Jelsa (Jack Frost x Elsa), and HTTYD fanfics, but this, by far, takes the cake for "the weirdest category I've ever written for".**

**But, I've still got life to live.**

**So, you could guess that I've never done a Danny Phantom fanfic before… so, not the greatest first impression, but, a first to everything, I guess. I'm eager to see what this community it like. Ever since I hit the Big Four (six), I've never really had to go out of my comfort zone.**

**Eh, review so I know I'm not the only one thinking this **_**could **_**be a good idea?**

**~ Sam (I know, I know… get it out now… my name is Sam… or Samantha...)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Per the Usual**

No matter what anyone tells you, never try to separate what is real and what was in your dreams when you wake up, because, take it from me, the best you end up with is a headache. Then again, you couldn't blame me.

I was, after all, in a bag.

So headache and all, I started screaming. I admit, it wasn't exactly the most heroic thing to do, but I wasn't into the heroics right then and there. There wasn't any movement other than the men (I'm guessing here) making sure I was pinned down. I would have said that it was a better idea just to gag me, tie my wrists, and blindfold me, but I'm guessing bagging me was hitting two birds with one stone.

Hint: two birds.

Meaning the third one, gagging me, was left unattended.

After a good amount of time screaming, I finally heard some voices.

"He's not stopping."

"Why is he even awake? I told you to -"

"Shh! He _is awake_."

"Then shut him up."

I wanted to stop screaming; I really did. From what I learned, I was lucky to be alive. Well, 'lucky to be alive' took things to extremes, but 'shut him up' made me believe in the worst. So I tried to stop screaming, but every time I tried, something would spook me and I'd yelp. And then, of course, it went back to full blown screams when a needle intruded in my person space (bag?). They _were_ trying to kill me! But it was awfully hard to avoid a needle when in a bag. It kept approaching me, but, suddenly, the arm the needle was closest to… well… disappeared, and the needle went straight on through without effect. My eyes widened. A smile slowly crept on to my face the longer he tried to stick the needle in.

"He's using his powers, sir, what do we do?"

The minute I heard the question, I was ecstatic. Daniel Fenton: 1 Kidnapping-Guys-in-White: 0

Well, maybe Daniel Fenton: 1 Kidnapping-Guys-in-White: 1

Because, you know, they _did_ kidnap me.

In my moment of 'hurrah', I didn't notice that I had become human (for lack of better words) again. I'd say I didn't notice they jabbed the needle in me, but how couldn't I? It was cold and hurt. A. Lot. I felt woozy and decided to silence my screams and die in dignity.

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><p>Okay, so I didn't die. Because I was pretty sure a school head administration office wasn't heaven. But, who knows. I could have gone to hell. Well, at least I was out of the bag.<p>

Heh. If I ever got home, my new 'cats out of the bag' would be 'Danny's out of the bag'. Not that anyone would care. Unless the idea humiliated me. Then maybe they would care.

I was being distracted. So far, I'd turned into a half-ghost creature, gotten kidnapped, drugged and sacked, and now I was in my most favorite place in the world: school. Or somewhere that looks like it. It would be beyond me for why I would be kidnapped and taken here. I scanned the room, looking for an escape to realize I wasn't alone. Well, there went my chances.

An older woman in black heels and hair in a ponytail (which was not a good look for her) walked over to the desk (presumably hers) in front of me.

"Oh good. You're awake," she said in a surprisingly young voice, "I'm Ms. Rector. These delightful men over there are Rick and Tony."

I looked over at the two men with a glare. "Delightful" my ectoplasm.

Ms. Wreck-tor saw my display and cleared her throat.

"From what we have discovered, Daniel, was that you have abilities outside of the natural human central." I squirmed when I heard this. Not. Good. But how did a school have anything to do with cutting me to pieces to dissecting my body parts? Unless this was an everyday thing for the school science lab."

"Daniel," Ms. Wreck-tor leaned in closer "we are not here to hurt you. I admit, the way we handled you was… inhumane, but we never know what the new student will do with their powers."

Student? Powers? I looked at her, slowly but surely connecting the dots.

"So… I'm in a school with other freaks like me," I said slowly.

Ms. Wreck-tor sighed, "Not freaks, Daniel. And my name is Ms. Rector, spelled R-E-C-T-O-R. I "wreck" nothing."

I swallowed. So she could read my mind. I'm guessing in a school of _not-freaks_, a mind-reading principal would be handy.

Ms. _Rector_ sighed and pulled out some files.

"Are these accurate?"

I looked down to find every school record, birth certificate, web site admission, email, and… death certificate? I looked up.

"Um, these are all right. Except for this one," I handed her back the death certificate, "I'm _pretty_ sure didn't die in a fire."

Ms. Rector gave me a sad smile, "Oh, but you did. You see, Daniel, you can't be 'alive' in this society. Your last name and profile will have to change, along with school records and birth certificates," her smile turned dry, "Welcome, Daniel _Phantom_, to the Academy of the Supernaturally Gifted."

I just sat there for a while, even after Ms. Rector said she was leaving to retrieve my dorm mate. In a strange, ridiculous way, Ms. Rector was right. I _was _dead. Half dead. But that wasn't what she meant. She meant my death in the way of 'you can attend your own funeral' dead.

Ms. Rector returned with a blabbering kid I could have sworn I remembered on her heels. He was holding a device that I couldn't define. He was just looking at it. No pen or anything of the sort. Now, I didn't know what the device was doing, but it was weird.

"Mr. Phantom, this is Mr. Tucker File. He will be your dorm mate until you graduate. He possesses technology-based telepathic skills-" Ms. Rector was cut off from saying more by Tucker.

"And super good looks."

Ms. Rector looked at the scrawny (not that I could say anything much better about myself) puffed-out chest of Tucker and back to me.

"Eh… good luck."

With that we were pushed out the door and Tucker lead me to out dorm.

"So? What powers do you have? You heard Ms. Rector tell you mine, but I don't have any idea what yours is. Is it something tech related? Because that would be awesome! The two super powered geeks of the school rooming together…" Tucker seemed to want to go on, but I took his silence to my advantage.

"Actually, I'm half… ghost. I think." I really _wasn't_ sure, "Ms. Rector didn't tell me anything."

Tucker looked at me, "Really? She went into a whole rant about me. She did to Sam too. I'm pretty sure she's obsessed with everyone's powers. She really likes us to 'be prepared'. Wonder why she didn't say anything to you?"

I shrugged uninterested in whether or not Ms. Rector wanted me to know the full extent of my powers. _My powers._ It was still weird to think about.

"So… since Ms. Rector didn't say anything about your powers, do you wanna try them out?" Tucker asked.

"I don't know. Honestly, I want to think about something else."

I was going to take Tucker's silence as an understanding. I thought back to when he first walked in. I couldn't help but remember him from somewhere. I tried to think. Tucker wasn't exactly a common name. Tucker, Tucker, Tucker…

Wait.

No. It couldn't be _that _Tucker. That Tucker was… dead.

Oh.

Well.

I couldn't be positive. Well, Tucker _was_ pretty anxious to talk.

"So, what was your last name before you got here?" I asked.

Tucker looked at me as if I'd asked him if he could tell me how many numbers was in pi.

"We aren't supposed to talk about that!" Tucker exclaimed.

I shrugged.

"Okay, then. I'll guess. Is it… Foley?" I guessed.

Tucker's eyes widened.

"Shh!"

He quickly found our room and shoved us in it.

"You can't talk about that kind of stuff. Didn't you read the rule book?" He asked.

I growled, "No! I didn't get _anything_ to help me with _anything_! So far, all I know is that I have powers, I'm going to this school for who-knows-how-long, my family thinks I'm dead, and, I'll even go far enough to say I've been kidnapped!"

I was nearing hysterics. I was normally and pretty laid-back guy, but this was different. Very different. Tucker (whose last name used to be and should rightfully be Foley) tried not to look shock.

"Chill dude. I-I'll lend you my rule book."

I didn't say anything, only nodding. While he went into the drawers, I looked around. The room was a pale blue color. Apparently, Tucker used to have this place to himself until I came, because there were only two beds. Well, I supposed since you could regulate the _amount of people who retained powers_ every year, it was best to have it that way. My bed (presumably) was all white. Tucker's, on the opposite side of the room (east if the door was south) was a navy green comforter with blue pillows. I wondered how he got them. Maybe the school let us out at one point to some shop or something like that. I'd have to ask.

I sat down on my bed. I couldn't unpack anything; I didn't have clothes. So I just sat there, watching the sun. It was noon, from what I could tell, meaning I had been away for at least 12 hours. I had a feeling it would be more. A lot more. Tucker eventually stood in front of me, holding out a booklet.

"Sorry it took so long to find. I put all of the information in my PDA when I got it." Tucker said.

I nodded and took a look at the booklet.

"This must have taken a long time to put it into that." I said.

"Actually, I have tech-based-"

"Telepathic skills. Sorry, I forgot." under my breath I added, "It's not exactly every day you find out that you're going to a school with people with superpowers."

Tucker seemed to have heard it and bristled, but I pretended not to notice, reading the booklet.

"Just read the basic rules. The rest will take you forever to read." Tucker suggested.

I nodded to show that I heard and flipped to the back of the booklet (back. Why the back?) to read the 'basic rules'.

"Okay, rule number one: never question authority. Push, I'm sure _that's_ never happened. Rule two: No using your powers against anyone during school. And my opinion still stands. Rule three-"

"Dude, I've read it," Tucker said from his bed across the room, "You can read it yourself."

I sighed and continued to read it in my head.

Rule three: Talk of the life you had before attending this school should be kept to a minimum. Rule four: Do not leave school grounds unless authorized. Rule five: The most important rule: No sharing previous surnames. Violation of these rules can lead to varying consequences.

I looked up at Tucker.

"These rules are ridiculous."

Tucker looked up from his PDA and shrugged.

"I dunno. They aren't _that_ bad. You get to go off campus sometimes. And, really, they're pretty lax about everything else."

I sighed and decided that, since this was my only option, I would converse with Tucker.

"So, uh, did you, by any chance, go to Casper High?" I asked.

Tucker looked at me and thought for a moment.

"I guess that isn't against the rules. I did, actually. Did you?"

"Yup. I'm surprised you don't recognize me. Everyone knew me," I flopped onto my bed and looked at the ceiling, "And not in the good way either."

Tucker hummed a yes.

"Well, if you know me, I wasn't exactly the greatest either." Tucker admitted.

I laughed, "Yeah, I know. Weren't you shoved into an electrical outlet or something?"

Tucker glared at me from the corner of my eye.

"No. It was a telephone wire. And it was how I got my powers."

I cringed.

"Ouch."

Tucker smiled a bit and sat up on his bed, while I followed suit.

"I'm guessing turning half-ghost hurt too. I mean, you're half dead, so pretty much, half you of died."

I snickered; it actually sounded pretty funny when you thought about it.

"Hey, I remember you now! You're the kid with ghost hunting parents!" Tucker's eyes widened, "Man, they were _weird_."

Great. Even the weird thought I was weird. Well, not me exactly, but close enough. I felt my stomach growl, and I remembered I hadn't eaten since lunch that day. Not to mention it was _school_ food. I hoped this school food was better.

I looked up. "Um, is there any food I could have..?"

Tucker jumped up from his bed.

"Say no more! We'll go down to the best meatloaf you have ever tasted. It's been luch for a while. I bet Sam's waiting. Let's go!"

I was all in for it and followed Tucker out the door.

"Cool." So… food. It was a start. I'd have to take Tucker up on the offer of trying out my powers. "Also, who is Sam?"

Tucker shrugged, "She's a friend. You can meet her sometime. But I have to warn you, she kinda strange."

I had to snort at that. What wasn't?

**A/N: Much longer than last chapter. Much. So… this wasn't great, but it had some action (or better described as events). I haven't had this problem in a very long time, but I have this '5 review minimum policy'. Thanks!**

**So here's some Q and A that could pop up in reviews.**

**Q: Will Vlad be in this?**

**A: Yes.**

**Q: Why didn't Danny just completely go intangible?**

**A: Because that would mean he'd fall out of the car.**

**That's all I can think of now, but rest assured I've got a plan for everything mentioned in this chapter.**

**~ Sam**


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